BRICS leaders join hands at summit in South Africa

The five leaders of the BRICS emerging economies have gathered in South Africa for an annual summit where the United States is being criticized for escalating tariffs on foreign goods.

The leaders clasped hands and posed for a group photograph on Thursday, the second day of the meeting in Johannesburg.

They are Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Brazilian President Michel Temer and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa .

Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has also been invited to the summit.

Xi said Wednesday that the world faces “a choice between cooperation and confrontation” amid a trade dispute with the United States. U.S. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, accused China of “vicious” tactics on trade.